System crash? I prove it with my control panel!

Inside the pavilion by the pool, a middle-aged man in a white robe respectfully handed a scroll to a young man sitting in the pavilion.

He kept his head down, trembling slightly.

Chen Wen picked up the tea cup brewed by A Yiqi, took a sip, and a hint of curiosity appeared between his brows.

"You mean it's only my Grade B spirit field that suffered the disaster, while the neighboring Grade A or Grade C spirit fields were unaffected?"

Manager Wang's face turned deathly pale, his eyes vacant. He was terrified that the young man before him might kill his entire family at the slightest provocation, so he nodded hastily and tremblingly.

"Yes...yes, Senior Brother Jingwen, it's definitely not because I neglected my duties. The beast plague, locust plague, and disease plague have come one after another, this is..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Wen interrupted him. He knew this was a man-made disaster.

He put down his teacup, took the scroll from his hand, and unfolded it. Inside was a map of the distribution of spiritual fields, but it was densely marked with all sorts of disaster situations.

Chen Wen frowned slightly, looked up and pointed to the side, saying:

"Sit down and have a cup of tea."

"Senior brother, this disciple..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Wen's voice rang out.

"This is Snow Welcoming Spring, which is most effective in calming the mind and soothing the nerves. Drinking more of it can also enhance one's understanding. You should try it."

Snow welcomes spring, two thousand spirit stones per pound!

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Jingwen!"

Wang Shuchun's mind raced. He immediately bowed in thanks, took the cup of tea that Chen Wen had poured for him, and stood there savoring it.

Chen Wen was not surprised to see this. Just as ordinary people cannot refuse to nourish their kidneys, cultivators cannot refuse to improve their comprehension.

He naturally couldn't refuse, so when he saw that Qin Shuiru had some, he took a jade box and put some back with him.

But after drinking it, I found that it had almost no effect.

It's tasteless to drink; it's better to use it to entertain guests, at least that would seem more impressive.

Wang Shuchun was allowed to drink tea on the side.

Chen Wen continued to look at the contents of the scroll.

At Spirit Field No. 87, a demonic beast attacked, resulting in the death of one disciple and injuries to two others.

Spirit field No. 69 was severely damaged by the rampant Spirit-Eating Locusts.

The No. 93 spiritual field is suffering from a disease that causes the spiritual field's yield to decrease by more than 50%.

......

There are many similar examples.

Various types of damage.

Without exception, the cause could not be found for any of them.

Chen Wen put down the scroll, rubbed his temples, and muttered, "These people really go to great lengths; they're like a persistent ghost!"

Looking at the sighing young man, Wang Shuchun knew that this was no small matter and that he would need the help of someone with profound cultivation.

Although this young man was a true disciple, he ultimately failed to mature.

He cautiously suggested, "Senior Brother Jingwen, why don't we post a bounty at the sect's mission hall and ask an inner sect senior brother to help?"

Chen Wen pondered for a moment. In fact, in principle, asking an inner sect senior brother to help would be the safest option.

There's no need to worry about what other tricks the other side might have up their sleeve, and the problem can be solved quickly.

However, a senior disciple from the inner sect who was proficient in magic offered at least several thousand spirit stones.

He is currently short of money, having used all his spirit stones for cultivation.

He even sold the horns of the savage bull he killed a year ago to the sect in exchange for contribution points.

He currently has 500 contribution points in his identity jade token.

It was the money he received from paying the spirit rice last year. After deducting the contribution points he had overdrawn and spending some more, there was still some left.

He plans to save these contribution points and exchange them for spirit ore along with this year's contribution points, and then use them to refine his physical body once he completes the Xuanhuang Refining Heart Technique.

But right now...

Chen Wen stood up, took out a bamboo whistle, and blew it softly.

Turning around, he smiled gently:

"Let's go to Lingtian and see how things are going before we decide."

"This is!"

Wang Shuchun hesitated for a moment, but still agreed.

He thought Chen Wen was just a young man with a youthful spirit and was afraid of losing face, so he wanted to try to persuade Chen Wen again.

But then he thought, he was just an outer disciple in charge, and he should just do his job. Besides, he didn't even know if his family members were safe!

The crane arrived quickly, and after landing, its eyes were fixed on Chen Wen. It tried several times to fly away, but seemed to think of something and landed instead.

Even after landing, Linghe's eyes were filled with resentment.

Upon sensing this with his spiritual sense, Chen Wen couldn't help but feel a bit amused and exasperated.

It turned out that this crane was the one he rode when he first went to Qin Shuiru's cave last year.

To show my childlike nature, I made a promise with it that we would play together again when we got back.

After returning home, Chen Wen naturally had no intention of playing with it. He jumped off its back and went into his cave to cultivate in seclusion.

Chen Wen stroked its head, took out a Yellow Sprout Pill from his storage bag, broke off half of it, and handed it to the crane.

"Alright, alright, I had something urgent to attend to, I didn't mean to break our promise. I apologize, okay?"

"唳~"

Upon seeing Huang Yadan, the crane immediately felt a strong craving for it, flapping its wings impatiently and nodding its head frantically.

Seeing this, Chen Wen smiled slightly and tossed the pill into the air.

These cranes are trained to only eat what is thrown to them; they will not eat food from people's hands.

The crane immediately opened its beak, snatched the yellow bud pill in its mouth, and swallowed it.

Then, ignoring the digestive pills, she knelt down in front of Chen Wen, gesturing for him to come up.

Chen Wen jumped onto the crane's back, but Wang Shuchun was nowhere to be seen.

Looking back, he was staring blankly at Linghe, his eyes filled with bitterness, envy, and...jealousy!

Chen Wen couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Manager Wang, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and get on board."

Wang Shuchun then realized what was happening and quickly said, "I'm sorry, Senior Brother Jingwen, it's just that you're so generous, I was stunned for a moment."

He was cursing in his heart, "What a spendthrift! Does this beast even know what Huangya Dan is? It costs two spirit stones for each pill!"

He remained outwardly calm and quickly climbed onto the crane's back.

Chen Wen shook his head. "It's nothing fancy. This pill is a practice piece made by a friend of mine. Only one-tenth of its medicinal power remains, so it's practically useless. It's a pity to throw it away, so I'd rather feed it to these cranes."

After saying this, he placed his hand on the crane's back and said:

"Let's go. Don't resist. I'll help you seal in the medicinal effects so you can absorb them slowly while you rest."

The crane cried out joyfully, "Cry!"

The crane took to the sky.

Wang Shuchun hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. Could you feed me a few while you're at it? I don't mind if they're just wasted pills!

Chen Wen activated his spiritual sense and naturally noticed his little scheme, and smiled:

"Don't even think about it. The spiritual power is only one-tenth of what it used to be, and what's left is all impurities. Spirit beasts are strong and naturally have nothing to fear, but humans are different. If you eat one, you'll need at least a month of conditioning. It's not worth it."

"I understand!"

Wang Shuchun quickly bowed his head and replied.

However, a hint of regret still lingered on his face.

He wouldn't hesitate to take even ten times the amount of erysipelas, let alone something that causes erysipelas.

He spent his entire life cultivating but only reached the sixth level of Qi Refining; he just couldn't get past the hurdle of the late stage of Qi Refining.

But the ten-year-old child's cultivation level was the same as his.

He had long since given up his obsession with Foundation Establishment and only wanted to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining and live a few more years.

Chen Wen was unaware of his thoughts, and even if he had, he would have simply laughed it off.

He practiced his qi all his life, yet he remained so naive.

It should be noted that there are differences between different levels of Qi Refining.

Spells, magical artifacts, talismans, formations, the physical body, and so on.

He dared to say that he could defeat Wang Chunsheng in one move.

After flying for a long time, Chen Wen suddenly spoke.

"Manager Wang, how effective were those scarecrows?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shuchun trembled and quickly said, "The effect is excellent. Ever since your scarecrow was erected, no one has dared to steal the spirit rice."

His gaze was lowered, and every time he saw this young man, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Even her previous fear that he would kill her entire family stemmed from this incident.

half year ago.

Wang Shuchun came to report on the planting situation.

Chen Wen discovered that the accounts did not match up.

The actual area was clearly two hectares of sacred land, but the reported area was more than ten hectares less.

Wang Shuchun explained that there are always errors in the division of the spiritual fields, and this is how they have been planted for many years.

Chen Wen keenly sensed something was wrong; could there be another error, or even ten acres?

Keep in mind that two hectares of land is only two hundred acres in total.

There must be something fishy going on!

Is it right to always do things this way?

He also understood why Wang Shuchun had looked hesitant when he asked him to pay 95,000 catties of spirit rice every year.

This means that every acre of land must be at full yield.

He was probably thinking of buying spirit rice to make up for it himself.

Chen Wen ordered Wang Shuchun to personally measure the land.

Sure enough, he discovered that two servant disciples had been encroaching on the land little by little since their ancestors' time, blurring the boundaries.

Their descendants all followed this plan and ended up occupying an extra ten acres of sacred land.

Based on yield, these ten acres of spiritual fields are enough to produce five thousand catties of spiritual rice per year.

With this, they even supported several outer disciples and purchased property in Qingming City.

After Chen Wen reported this to the authorities, he ordered Wang Shuchun to arrest the entire family, young and old, without leaving a single one alive.

After recruiting new handyman disciples, their first lesson was not how to cultivate spirit rice, but observing punishment.

They peeled off the skin, stuffed it with straw, and made it into a scarecrow to be displayed to the public.

Of course, Chen Wen was kind-hearted and did not appear in person, but had Wang Shuchun personally give the order to take action.

Fortunately, their family is large enough that each spiritual field can be allocated a scarecrow.

After that, Chen Wen fell silent, but Wang Shuchun seemed to be transported back to those nightly nightmares...

The crane flew for several hours, passing through numerous mountains, and finally arrived at the border of the Qingming Sect.

This is the gathering place for the outer disciples and miscellaneous disciples of the Azure Netherworld Sect—the Spirit Field District.

Outside of it lies the Azure Nether Mountains, where demonic beasts roam.

Chen Wen's first stop was Spirit Field No. 87, a place where monsters attacked.

After all, someone has died, so an investigation must be conducted first.

He was also very curious about how the demonic beasts managed to bypass the sect's formations and enter the sect.

The Qingming Sect is naturally protected by a protective array, but it is only located on the side near the Qingming Mountains, and its protective range is limited to the vicinity of the Nine Peaks.

These outer gate areas are only equipped with second-order formations.

Even for a second-tier formation, such a large distance would require a considerable amount of resources to operate daily.

Therefore, it is normally turned off, but an early warning mechanism is provided. Once a monster is detected approaching, it will be turned on immediately and the monster will be killed.

But now, demonic beasts have appeared in the spirit field.

This is clearly not normal.

Before landing, Chen Wen saw the area that had been attacked; it was riddled with holes and in complete disarray.

The rice was leaning to one side, and there were signs of nibbling on the scarecrow standing next to it.

Command the crane to land here.

After getting off, Chen Wen patted the crane.

"You're with me today, I'll cover you for the whole day!"

As he spoke, he took out twelve spirit stones and handed them to the spirit crane.

The crane picked up the spirit stone with its beak, put it away, and then lay down to the side. It couldn't wait to start digesting the pill it had just taken.

The commotion naturally attracted the attention of the servants living in the area.

Seeing their steward following closely behind a young man dressed in a genuine purple robe, they were momentarily intimidated and dared not utter a sound.

Wang Shuchun asked cautiously, "Senior Brother Jingwen, should we summon those disciples for questioning?"

"No need."

Chen Wen waved his hand and walked straight towards the area of ​​the spirit field that had been most severely damaged.

There was a deep pit, with the surrounding soil turned upside down and the clods of earth loose, as if it had been arched out.

In the deep pit, there was some shiny, but dried phlegm.

Upon arrival, a unique, fishy stench assaults the senses, making one feel uneasy.

Chen Wen used his spiritual power to protect his mouth and nose, which made him feel a little better.

Upon entering the pit, a brown acupuncture needle was clearly visible through the probe of spiritual sense.

Based on these traces, it can be confirmed that it is a first-tier demon beast, the Earth Pig.

This monster is irritable and has a brownish-red body, but it has a foul odor. Only after castration can the odor be eliminated. It is docile and is often raised as a carnivore.

The animals that appear here are naturally uncastrated and are unlikely to be wild.

Because the Earth Pig is a family-oriented social animal, it usually appears in a group.

Of the dozens of meters of spiritual fields here, only this area suffered damage, clearly indicating that there was only one [animal/organism].

Chen Wen had learned that the deceased handyman disciple was at the second level of Qi Refining, and the others who were injured were also at that level.

However, the fact that it spared survivors suggests that this is only a mid-grade first-tier weapon.

He emerged from the pit and asked, "Have you reported this to the mountain?"

Wang Shuchun hurriedly replied, "No, I reported to you immediately as soon as the incident occurred at Lingtian."

Chen Wen nodded and said, "I already know what's going on here. It was an attack by a wild Wutu dolphin. Let's report it to the patrol team inside the peak for handling."

Within the sect, there are corresponding departments to handle everything; he only needs to clarify the matter and report it.

Someone will handle it.

Whether it's useful or not is another matter.

He waved Wang Shuchun away, and with a thought, he made a hand seal to cast a spell.

Suddenly, wisps of emerald green mist appeared.

Wang Shuchun hesitated, wondering what use it was to use this minor cloud and rain technique if he wasn't going to search for the demon.

However, the next moment he felt a strong fragrance of herbs and trees, and then he realized that he had become energetic and comfortable, and his joints, which had become rusty due to his age, had become more flexible.

He turned his head and saw that the raindrops falling from the sky were emerald green.

He couldn't help but open his mouth and let the rainwater fall into it. After tasting it, his eyes lit up. This rainwater actually contained the essence of plants.

He quickly sat cross-legged on the spot and began to absorb the essence of cultivation.

Chen Wen ignored him and used his spiritual power to fill the pit, releasing all the essence of plants from the Spring Breeze and Rain Technique.

The scent drifted on the wind, stretching for miles.

Fearing that his breath wouldn't last long enough, he ground up another Qi-gathering pill to replenish his mana.

The crooked rice plants on the ground stood up again, even stronger than before.

Seeing that the spirit rice had recovered, Chen Wen stopped the rain and instead continued to use the Spring Breeze and Rain Technique and Xiao Rongyuan Hand to spread the scent of plants and trees, slowly walking into the outer forest area.

The array detected Chen Wen's identity jade token, flashed slightly, and then stopped reacting.

The jungle was silent except for the sound of Chen Wen's breathing.

He walked on the trees, and he moved very quickly.

After going about two kilometers deeper, he suddenly stopped, carefully sensed the surroundings, and then revealed a cold smile.

.........